Rarely does one play on the football field define a season — or a team.

The Calgary Stampeders, however, believe they’ve found the video evidence of a sequence of events that tells people everything they need to know about the identity of this club.

No matter how dark a situation may seem, the Stamps vow to keep fighting until the final gun.

In the immortal words of Corey Hart, Never Surrender.

“That play by Fred Bennett shows what type of team this is — the resilience,” linebacker Keon Raymond pronounced after a stunning 38-27 come-from-behind victory for the Calgary Stampeders over the Montreal Alouettes.

“It just shows the type of character that we have in this room. We’re not willing to give up, no matter the circumstances. That’s what we do.”

In truth, no one could really have blamed Bennett for giving up — at least in spirit, if not physical body — when kick returner Noel Devine blew past the entire Calgary cover team with 4:36 left in the third quarter. After all, a Montreal touchdown appeared more of a sure thing than a sellout at the 101st Grey Cup in Regina.

At the time, the Stamps led 28-24, thanks to putting up 28 unanswered points after falling behind 24-0 (no, that’s not a misprint) in the first quarter.

Determined beyond description, Bennett shook off the block of Montreal fullback Patrick Lavoie and burned down the sidelines. With the speedy Devine running out of breath, Bennett closed the gap and lunged with his left fist near the Calgary 14.

Pop! The ball flew out of Devine’s and landed in the end zone. Calgary linebacker Alvin Bowen pounced and clutched the pigskin to his chest like a newborn baby.

The play went down on the stats sheet as a 108-yard kickoff return, with the forced fumble credited to Bennett.

“Look at the effort Fred put in,” Raymond said. “He’s running all the way down the field for kickoff, and then to have to chase the guy 60 or 70 yards back down the field with no quit? He just put the team on his back and showed, ‘I’m going to make that play.’ ”

Against all odds, the unassuming Calgary cornerback indeed made that play.

“I knew the circumstances,” Bennett said. “I just went running, and I saw the ball exposed. I felt like I had a chance. We do drills like that every day in practice.

“Fortunately for me, one of them became a realization today.”

Five plays later, Jon Cornish rumbled 21 yards into the Montreal end zone to put Calgary up 35-24 and effectively dust the Alouettes for the day.

With the victory, the Stamps are 3-1. The Als drop to 1-3.

“Play of the game was Freddie Bennett,” marvelled Stamps head coach/general manager John Hufnagel. “That was a 14-point swing, because it took seven points off their scoreboard. We got the ball on the 25 and marched it down for a touchdown.

“That was kind of indication of our football this game. No matter how bad it looked, we weren’t giving up. And we played until the last whistle.”

In spite of losing quarterback Kevin Glenn to an arm injury, the Stamps indeed played to the last whistle with third-stringer Bo Levi Mitchell at the controls.

In doing so, the Stampeders set a new CFL record for overcoming the largest deficit ever (24 points) after one quarter for the win.

The previous mark was set by the B.C. Lions in 2004 when they roared back from a 20-point first quarter deficit to beat the Als.

Just goes to show anything truly can happen in the wacky three-down game.

“It’s always disappointing when our defence comes out that slow,” Bennett said. “But we’ve got a good group over there — a good group of coaches. We all believe in each other. It’s just about being accountable for your actions and taking responsibility, putting it on your shoulders and saying, ‘I’ve got to do my job for this team.’

“A lot of guys stepped up and did that.”

He’s right. The game saw two quarterbacks (Glenn and Mitchell) connect with 10 Stampeder receivers. Jon Cornish punished the Alouettes on the ground with 11 carries for 109 yards (an average of 9.9 yards per carry.) Defensive end Cordarro Law filled in admirably for the injured Charleston Hughes with four tackles and two sacks off the edge.

“We have a team motto, whatever it takes,” Cornish said. “And today, we showed that’s really been internalized at this point.

“As a team, I think this is the best victory that I’ve been part of personally outside the playoffs.”

The game ball undeniably goes to Bennett for a play that should be required viewing for every new player prior to entry into the Stampeder locker-room.

As Raymond said on Twitter: “The game was great but the effort by teammate Fred Bennett showed what type of character this team has — the will to continue to fight.”